While researching what folding bicycle to buy for a bike around Batam Island (Indonesia) I briefly looked into getting a Tern.
Pluses seemed to be design and quality. Downsides: inability to get parts when I am in Vietnam etc. Kind of like owning a Macintosh computer?
BTW, I am an urban bicyclist. I ended up buying a cheapo and giving it away in Singapore. But the folding bike concept appeals to me as I could carry my city transport wherever I go in Asia. Thing is I usually use trains and buses and donāt know how practical a folding lux bike would be in the third world. I donāt live in bicycle-friendly (?) East Asia.
Coming to Taiwan at which time I will shop around for a good second-hand high quality folding bicycle. Tern comes to mind, but there might be better choices.
Q: Why not?
I donāt like the ride quality of folding bikes, and the full-sized bikes from Tern are among the heaviest Iāve ever tried (with a price tag that makes no sense)
I am thinking of buying a Tern HSD Cargo Bike. I am a bit put off at how not very easy it is seems to be to buy it in Taiwan (maybe I simply need to try harder) ā most of the Taipei dealers listed on the Tern website do not seem to carry Cargo bikes. I have been biking mostly around Shihlin and Daan Districts and I realize I have not see many (any, actually) Terns on the street since CNY. In the past 2 years, I have seen a family using a Tern Cargo bikes once, and I have seen Lutetia Bakeries Tern bikes a couple times on the street.
Is there something I am missing that should make me think twice about getting a Cargo bike? Iām getting it primarily because my kid has outgrown the childseat ilonnour regular bike. He is old enough to bike to school on his own but I like us riding together ā and I also want to hold off getting a car as long as possible.
This might be an older GSD model. This picture shows the Clubhouse accessory, which allows 2 kids up to 10yo to ride
I have asked a friend who manufactures and exports from Taiwan . Will let you know if there is a viable alternative , or the best way to get that bike in Taiwan.
I finally made it to one of the bike dealers listed on Ternās website (an earlier attempt ended up in my learning the hard way that the bike shop had long-since closed). They were unequivocal: Tern Cargo bikes are not sold in Taiwan. They even explained further that I should expect it to take 3 months for me to order one from abroad and bring it in.
I will reach out to Lutetia Bakery and ask about their experience, too.
Friend of mine has one and he takes his daughter on it. You can rig a seat to the front with a seat beltā¦itās not folding but they have some different sizes.
If interested you can purchase here, ask for āJackā:
Hi Gus, sorry to revive an old thread. Were you ever able to find a Tern cargo bike (GSD/HSD) in Taiwan? Looking to also get one after trying one out in Europe last summerā¦and mistakenly came here to Taiwan (where they are apparently made!) thinking it would be easy to purchaseā¦Iāve been similarly surprised to not see ANY here, especially with how popular bikes are and how great the tern cargo bikes are at hauling around kids.
I am looking for one so I can take my two kids on the riverside network.
Checked out their facebook page - it seems they do have the GSD and HSD bikes based on a post in 2020. Will check them out, but guessing they will be quite expensive.
Are domestic prices for Taiwanese bikes (e.g. Giant) typically the same as what can be found internationally? Meaning, are prices typically lower for the same bike here vs buying in the U.S.?
